KALAMAZOO, MI – Kalamazoo County will pay more than $1.1 million to settle a federal lawsuit filed by a Scotts woman who was injured in 2010 after two sheriff’s deputies mistook her for a suspect in a high-speed chase, court documents show.

The settlement between Michelle Selbee, the county and deputies Larry Czarnowski and Nicholas Mihalek was reached in November, according to a letter authored by Mediator Peter L. Dunlap, of Lansing, that was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids.

In all, Selbee, 43, is to be paid $1,101,500 under terms of the settlement, which has not yet been approved by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker, who presided over the case.

Selbee’s lawsuit, which claimed she and her 14-year-old son suffered physical and emotional injuries, stemmed from an incident on Oct. 29, 2010, during which Czarnowski and Mihalek were among police chasing a car driven by Denise Metzelburg.

Metzelburg’s husband, John Metzelburg, fired numerous gunshots at police. During the pursuit, the deputies, who were riding together in a Chevrolet Tahoe, lost sight of the Metzelburgs’ blue Toyota Camry in Scotts.

They then spotted Selbee’s brown Camry and mistook her car for that of the Metzelburgs. Selbee’s lawsuit said she had pulled in to her neighbor’s driveway when the deputies approached her, and she complied with their orders to put her hands up as she exited her car.

The suit said one of the deputies then pulled her from her car by her hair and threw her on the ground and gravel as her son, Zachary, exited the Selbees’ home to see what was going on. Selbee’s suit said one of the deputies pointed his gun toward Zachary.

The deputies eventually realized that Selbee was not the suspect in the pursuit and continued their chase of the Metzelburgs. The Metzelburgs later crashed their car in St. Joseph County and were arrested. Both are now serving time in Michigan prisons.

The Michigan Sheriff's Association reviewed the incident involving Selbee and found that Czarnowski and Mihalek, a reserve deputy, did not violate the sheriff's office use of force policy.

Selbee’s attorney, Ven R. Johnson, of Detroit, filed a motion Friday in U.S. District Court asking Jonker to approve the settlement of the case.

The motion asks that the $1.1 million settlement be divided this way: $402,141.92 to pay Selbee’s attorney fees and $500 to an attorney who has been appointed as guardian ad-litem to represent Selbee’s son, who is now 16, in the case.

The motion asks that the remaining balance -- $697,858.08 – be distributed to Zachary and Selbee. Zachary, at age 20, would receive $50,000 divided into monthly payments of $400 for 12 years and 6 months.

Selbee would receive $227,858.08 in cash and, beginning March 1, she would receive monthly payments of $1,140 for the next 25 years, as well as a one-time payment of $20,000 in July 2016, according to the motion filed by Johnson.

Reached Monday, Selbee said she was “relieved” that the case has been settled. Still, she said the emotional scars of the incident for her and her son remain.

“For me and Zack, it isn’t over,” Selbee said. “… It’s a grieving thing just for what we lost. It’s hard to explain, but I lost who I used to be and Zach lost a mother that I used to be and there’s just so much damage done to our relationship and our lives that, I guess, people would not think about.”

Johnson could not immediately be reached Monday for comment about the settlement.

Thom Canny, corporate counsel for Kalamazoo County, confirmed Monday that the county and Selbee had reached “a settlement in principal.”

Canny said he is hopeful to have final documents in the case before Kalamazoo County commissioners for their approval in time for the commission’s next meeting on Dec. 18.

“I think it is resolved and it just needs to be finalized,” Canny said.